Evidence of meeting #117 for Health in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was coverage.
A video is available from Parliament.
NDP
Liberal
Professor, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
I think what you do is build national capacity to procure, with ironclad contracts with manufacturers, medicines of proven safety, efficacy and value. Essentially, we need to implement the recommendations of the Hoskins council.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Thank you very much, Dr. Morgan.
Next, we have Mrs. Roberts, please, for five minutes.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm going to ask yes-or-no questions of everyone, starting with Dr. Gagnon.
Do you think family doctors are crucial?
Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University, As an Individual
Are they crucial?
Conservative
Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University, As an Individual
Yes.
Public Health Agency of Canada Chair, Family Planning Research, Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights
As a family doctor, I think I have to declare my conflict of interest, but my answer is a resounding yes.
Professor, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
Yes, alongside other primary care providers.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
I'll tell you why I'm asking this question. In Ontario, the province I'm from, we have a shortage of 2,500 doctors. Over two million people don't have a doctor, and by 2026, there will be 4.4 million people without a doctor. In Ontario alone, 1.7 million people have a family doctor who is over the age of 65. In Canada, six million Canadians don't have a family doctor.
The reason I bring this up is that a couple in B.C., Jane and Steve Williams, have been on the waiting list for a family doctor for three years. He recently went in for emergency surgery, and he has no family doctor who will be able to help him.
Here we are talking about pharmacare and taking care of our patients. How can somebody get the required medical attention and have the drugs prescribed to them that they will need?
I'm going to go back to Dr. Morgan because I want to make sure I get this right. You made a statement earlier that this is a “patchwork system,” and I have to agree with you. I don't think this system was well thought out.
If I understand correctly, Dr. Norman, you said you were part of the panel. Is that correct? Were you part of the pharmacare investigation on the panel with the government?
Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University, As an Individual
I am Mr. Gagnon. Dr. Norman is....
Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University, As an Individual
No, I wasn't part of the pharmacare panel.
Public Health Agency of Canada Chair, Family Planning Research, Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights
Was I part of the panel to...?
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Were you part of the panel to develop the pharmacare plan?
Public Health Agency of Canada Chair, Family Planning Research, Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights
I worked with the B.C. government to provide evidence that supported their development of their plan for contraception. At the request—
Conservative
Public Health Agency of Canada Chair, Family Planning Research, Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights
—of the Minister of Health in B.C., I was able to present to the Minister of Health federally and to other federal departments.
